The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Oliver Weitzel won an invitation to race at AMA Amateur Nationals representing Montana. He is the grandson of Robert and Judy Williams and the son of Brett and Lisa William Weitzel. Oliver started riding a Honda 50 at three and had his first race at six. The first race he ever competed in, he won! Oliver will turn 15 this summer. So he has been racing for eight years. He is driven to become a professional ranked motocross racer someday.

To qualify for the AMA Amateur National, you must participate in a two-step qualifying process, the area qualifiers and the regional championships. The US is divided into eight geographical regions: Northeast, Southeast, Mid-East, North Central, South Central, Northwest, Midwest, and Southwest. Each region has eight qualifying races, and you must finish in an advancement position, typically top 9, to guarantee a spot to move on to the Regional Championship. Once at the Regional Championship, competitors must finish within the top 4 positions to advance to the final event - Loretta Lynn's Motocross National. It is the world's largest amateur motocross race that has been running since 1982 and is the last step before advancing to the pro rankings. Each class consists of the top 40 riders in the United States. Oliver is honored to have the opportunity to compete and represent our beautiful state of MT!

Brett, his dad, was a local state pro dirt bike racer, so it was inevitable. His mother wrote, "Genetics often come into mind when sometimes looking at Oliver's MX talents. Is it just decisions and perseverance that make someone great at something, or is it just written in their DNA? My mind goes to a bit of both with Ollie. I truly believe that Ollie was destined to "twist a throttle." Still, I also know that we have enabled and encouraged him to our fullest to teach him that nothing is out of reach and that anything is possible with determination and perseverance."

He has owned probably 12 bikes.

Lisa continued to write, "Oliver has earned sponsorships throughout the country, with his main sponsors being two Flathead Valley local companies (The Homestead & Titan Roofing) and, of course, Williams Big Bud. Robert and Randy know all too well about the love for motors and that feeling of freedom when you ride. It is fun to thumb through old pictures of the guys on their vintage bikes and hear all the stories about them riding the river breaks and hosting their own races. I always point out in the photos that riding in jeans, button shirts, and half helmets was probably not the smartest decision, but the stories are all so worth it. He is also sponsored by multiple motocross industries throughout the US, including Dunlop, Scott, Bell, FXR, ODI, OGIO, DT1, Acerbis, Sunstar, Motoseat, DID, DCS Motorsports, Hammer Nutrition, and Bushy Screen Printing."

His pit crew is mainly his mom and dad. However, Lisa says, "It truly takes an army to keep those bikes in competitive condition. Sometimes we rely on one of our local moto shops - Fastoys and Pro Circuit Industries out of California and a suspension company out of Helena DCS for suspension."

"As Oliver progressed within the sport, more time, more travel, and more investing was required. It left us with no choice but to have Ollie and I hit

the road alone a lot more within the last few years. I have had to learn to accept and take on the challenge of preparing Oliver to roll up to that starting gate and preparing his bikes too. As his "pit crew," it is vital to ensure that his bikes are dialed and prepared to perform for him as needed (correct tire pressures, spoke checks, chain tension, tightened bolts, oil/lubricants, fuel, etc.). This is necessary safety! When I encounter situations I can't fix, the moto community is always more than helpful."

His season is year-round. He has been able to balance school and his passions well. The days that he does miss, like any other student, he makes up on the road, or once he returns. At times we do, and we know he will struggle more with having faculty understand his situation in the future. We often have to remind Oliver that as important as your education, so is living. You are only young for such a short time on this earth, and we need a balance between our passions, education, relationships, and responsibilities because, Lord knows, in time, our expectations and responsibilities grow. We have discussed the options of home school, but at this moment, we feel it is best to keep in-school learning at the forefront for the time being.

He did play football and basketball in grade school and continued basketball throughout middle school.

Since age 8, Oliver has fought to get a ticket to attend the prestige Loretta Lynn National Race held annually at Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. The last few years, he was so close, but it always seemed something much greater than us was working against him. Or at least that is how it seemed to me - situations out of his control.

I asked if he had ever broken any bones. Lisa answered, "Oliver has had many crashes, but they have been fairly forgivable for the most part. In his eight years of racing, Oliver has broken both arms (which he did at home just out riding around on our property) and his hand and sustained a pretty extensive cut to his forehead that required two layers of stitching. We never could determine the cause and were thankful only sustained a level 1 concussion. I always tell Ollie, you're better off with a broken bone than a concussion. The head is something you don't want to mess with and is the most important safety gear on a racer which is always sponsored at 100% by Williams Big Bud!"

Lisa wrote, "I would not say Ollie is fearless. One would think that racing a dirt bike would just come with the territory, but that is not always true. There are definitely riders that are fearless and show more advancement quicker. Smooth is fast! Once fundamentals are dialed, speed will follow. In college at the U of M, my professor once told me that practice doesn't make perfect. It makes it permanent. How you practice because habits are hard to break, and I have pounded this into Oliver since day one! He is a very smart rider and has an extremely smooth style. I have yet to see him do anything on the track that is reckless, and this is one major driving force behind my acceptance of him riding."

Oliver holds multiple state titles and national podium finishes! Future goals are always set from year to year. His biggest goal thus far was to make it to the Loretta Lynn National. Now that that goal has been achieved, his goal at the ranch is to pull a hole shot off the gate and finish within the top 10. However, his ultimate goal is to become a recognized rider within the industry.

When it comes to the sport of motocross, it is one of the most physically demanding sports out there. Riders will reach, on average, 95% of their maximum heart rate for the duration of the moto. It is often overlooked because everyone thinks you sit on the bike and twist the throttle. That is so not the case!

Is his mother afraid? "Oh, my word, I am afraid, is an understatement. I am terrified! Whenever he wheels that orange machine up to the gate and his foot kickstarts that bike, my heart feels like it will jump out of my chest; I am emotional with a lump in my throat. I am always praying for protection and strength. I have a mental ritual that I repeatedly play in my mind, still crossing my fingers behind my back in the morning when the track is quiet and still during the National Anthem. When the gate drops, my eyes DO NOT leave him for a second. I am dialed on him for the duration of the race - running corner to corner, side to side, whatever it takes trying to keep my eyes on him."

"As time has progressed, so has his speed. I have almost become numb. Plenty of times, I question why I let him race and hit jumps that shoot him upwards to 100-plus feet through the air. I honestly can't answer that. Maybe because I know if he lost motocross, he would lose what makes his heartbeat the center of his little world and what makes Ollie Ollie! I have to have faith in him and trust in something greater that there is a purpose and reason for all our decisions, and sometimes we just let go and be OK with it. My biggest goal for him as his mother is to instill the knowledge that you can do anything you put your mind to. Nothing is out of reach; the magic potion is a lot of faith, perseverance, kindness, and always doing your best. The rest of the story will be written without even trying to find the words to write it."

The Loretta Lynn National will be televised on RacerTV.com.